The Crocus Plains Plainsmen lost the opening game of the Winnipeg High School Football League season to the Grant Park Pirates 29-22 on Thursday night.

“There were moments where we beat ourselves. We made a few mental errors that we can clean up in practice and we can talk about some simple things,” said head coach Mason Kaluzniak. “When you play a team like Grant Park, who notoriously finish in the top-six in our province, you can’t make those mistakes and it cost us today.”

The Plainsmen went to the ground game often during the contest. Gage Emberly rushed 20 times amassing 85 yards and two touchdowns. Between that, Cory’s running and nine yards from Easton Durgan, the team wracked up 158 rushing yards during the game.

Quarterback Jake Cory performed well in the contest, going 8-for-13 through the air for 120 yards while adding 57 rushing yards on four attempts.

A pair of Westman students have been honoured with Manitoba Building Trades High School athlete of the year awards.

Annika Schmidt of Rivers Collegiate was named the female A winner after competing in volleyball, basketball, badminton and track and field in the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association (MHSAA).

Schmidt, who will attend Brandon University in the fall, served as captain of her volleyball and basketball teams.

She led her basketball team in scoring, and in volleyball, was named a provincial all-star, a graduating all-star and won the Players’ Choice Award at volleyball provincials.

Ivy Perkin of Souris has won $2,000 scholarship from the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association as one of its four scholar athletes of the year.

They are awarded to graduating high school student athletes who maintained a minimum 85 per cent average and competed in at least two interscholastic sports. Their work around their school, in the community as a volunteer and their citizenship activities were also considered.

Perkin, who had a class-high 96 per cent academic average, competed in basketball, volleyball, badminton, track and field, rugby, and hockey.

In basketball, the two-time, provincial all-star and graduating all-star was team captain for three seasons, leading her team in points, assists, and steals per game each time.

Vincent Massey teacher Kelly DeRoo has been named the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association’s female high school coach of the year.

DeRoo was presented with the 2026 Grey Cup Legacy award on Tuesday at the MHSAA’s annual general meeting in Brandon.

DeRoo coached for a year in Baldur prior to a move to Massey in 2010. She coached the Vikings junior varsity girls volleyball program from 2010 to 2022 before taking over the varsity girls team, and also coached badminton at both schools.

In addition, she coached at volleyball camps in Brandon and Neepawa and is director of the Bobcats volleyball camps this year. For the past three years, she’s served as an assistant coach with the Brandon University women’s volleyball program and is now interim head coach.